oi, meu nome é...

What an amazing first day. Started the day off with an glorious Brazilian breakfast. Some of us were brave and energetic enough to go for a jog while others went for a walk. 

In terms of first impressions, the Brazilians are the most welcoming and friendly people we have every met. When we first went to the church this morning, we were greeted with open arms and awkward kisses to both cheeks. The looks on some of our faces were priceless. We were worried that there would be a huge language barrier to overcome, but to our surprise most of the congregation knows some english. Once introductions were made, we had the chance to see the rehearsal for the children's worship service. They were incredibly energetic!

We returned to Golden Blue Hotel Express to have a quick devotion and were very encouraged for the upcoming activities and work [such as painting the front facade of Capela da Graça] that will take place this week. Guess what! We went back to the church for {Insideout{ Brasil but words cannot express the intensity that ensued, so check out the video below.

Afterwards, we, and a few Brazilians, went to the best hot-dog joint in the world. Arnaldo's! It was like joy wrapped in bread.

side note [a.k.a. raf calls it a tangent] - Arnaldo is the founder (hence its title). He started selling hot-dogs from a little cart. It was such a hit, that he opened a restaurant. But that was not enough. People still wanted more. So there are now 40 franchises in the state of Paraná (the state in which Londrina is located for those who did not do so well in geography).

Back to our story. Joy in bread. Ate a lot. Smiles. Juices. More Smiles. Amazing. Delicious.

Heading back to the hotel, we almost got hit by a compact car.

another "tangent" - raf says we were ok as long as we were traveling in a pack, but there was still panic in the air.

Now we are chilling at the hotel, getting ready for tomorrow. We hope you guys have a great evening. Please continue to pray for Brazil, for us, and for the bigger picture.

much love

p.s. 

morgan says "hey mom and dad"

kendra says she loves her family please stop worrying grandma

jessica says "grandma i know you're reading this, don't worry please"

john says "yeah"

tomas says "hey ya!"

kyle says "holla!"

sam and charlie says "shout out to biff and biff's mom." and sam also says "hey to family, friends, and girlfriend."

meagan says "shout out to jeffrey. we're playing pool next time i see you. you're going down because i got some practice."

mallory says "i love my family."

em says "i love my family and shout out to my brother matt. you're missing an amazing trip."

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quote of the day: "I could talk to a wall all day but I can't talk to a wall that doesn't speak English." -Meagan

cultural shock of the day: at capela da graça, a young brazilian man came to greet everyone [by the way, when men and women are greeting, they kiss on the cheek]. he greeted the girls according to his culture, but when he greeted lisa, she quickly pulled away from the friendly kiss. after a few failed attempts, he gave up and awkwardness was in the air.

word of the day: Obrigado/Obrigada - thank you